WAAY to Cook was the favorite feature for all of us involved with the midday news, because after the show we got to sample the treats! During one of our cooking segments, the young chef from a local market quickly and nervously sliced vegetables with a long knife and tossed them into the dish he was preparing. My co-host (I believe it was Al Whitaker) and I were alarmed to see blood squirting onto the cutting board, but continued on with the segment. When we went to commercial break, the chef used a towel to wipe the blood from his cut finger and we could all see that the tip of his finger was GONE. We all looked disappointedly at the dish that could have been lunch.
Word travels fast and the crew that usually swarmed the "WAAY To Cook" set after the newscast didn't show up to sample this finger licking treat.
WALL TO WALL
My greatest memories at WAAY TV include breaking news events, especially "wall to wall" weather coverage. What a great feeling to be the first station to bring people the news they want and need to know, and to do it better than anyone else in the market!
My first "wall to wall" experience was during the unlikely snowstorm of March '93. We went live from 6-10a. I learned that morning to go easy on the coffee while sitting at the anchor desk, because it might be hours before the next break.
Other weather memories include: Kevin Athow and I surviving as a funnel cloud passed over University and the Parkway, (I thought I was surely going to die right there under that overpass, and I learned that when Kevin says, "Hey, there's a funnel cloud", he knows what he's talking about), an unnamed photographer putting up the mast as lightning moved closer so we could "go live", and meeting at Exxon for the cold, crowded ride up the mountain in the vehicle with chains.
I'm thankful for lasting friendships formed during my time at WAAY.
These days, I'm busy taking care of triplets. My three boys are two years old and the new loves of my life.